Help for Indian earthquake victims reaches remote areas

Associated Press

Published Sunday, February 04, 2001

KOTADI, India -- In a destroyed town near the Pakistani border, Dr. Anuvha Ghose treated the sick and injured Saturday, providing the first medical care the villagers have had since an earthquake devastated this corner of western India eight days ago.

While tending their wounds, Ghose, a CARE India staffer, also discovered a new problem: Nearly all the children she saw had respiratory infections -- a harbinger of possible epidemics to come.

''Pneumonia is the leading cause of child death in India. We are afraid these children will develop severe pneumonia,'' Ghose said, surrounded by children coughing as they waited for antibiotics.

The international community -- including India's archrival, Paki-stan-- has responded to the crushing quake with a massive aid effort. But amid complaints of delays because of a lack of organization, help is just starting to reach remote areas.

U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes brought tents, blankets, water tankers and forklifts for clearing rubble to Ahmedabad, the largest city in devastated Gujarat state.

On Saturday, the army began knocking down apartment buildings in Ahmedabad. Survivors dashed into the ruins to gather clothes, furniture and jewelry.

''My heart hurts seeing this come down,'' said Himat Solanki, who escaped from a four-story apartment building with his wife, mother and two children when the 7.7-magnitude quake hit Jan. 26.

The quake severely affected 1,016 villages containing about 35 million people, plus eight urban towns, Gujarat's home minister, Haren Pandya, told a news conference in Ahmedabad. The death toll stands at 16,403 but was likely to jump Monday when workers clear the rubble and find more bodies, he said.

Up to 70 bodies a day are turning up as the bulldozers work in Anjar, said Parimal Nathwani, an executive for Reliance Industries, an Indian petrochemical firm that moved in 800 engineers, doctors, technicians and other workers to clear and rebuild the town. Reliance also is running two field hospitals that have treated at least 800 injured people in the past five days.